James and my birthdays are less than a week apart so to celebrate we went on a one day "mini cruise" of the Almafi coast on the Saturday between our birthdays. And yes, The boats actually say "mini-cruise" on them, it's kind of entertaining to see the random English words here. But I guess if you go to Miami, Fl there is a lot of Spanish, so makes sense in a way. (Side note: when we were in Capri there were iron drainage things on the ground that said "made in Italy..." that was humorous- made in Italy, used in Italy, written in English... alright...) The cruise started at the Port in Naples, stopped in Sorrento for more people to get on, stopped at Capri (and allowed anyone who wanted to get out and swim for about 20 minutes), passed by Positano, and finally stopped in the town of Almafi. We were supposed to have the option of getting off at Positano OR Almafi but the tides were too strong for the boat to stop in Positano, so it was Almafi or don't get off 'til the end! We chose to get off at Almafi- it was a really cute town- as far as we could discover in 2 hours anyway. From what we saw, it was pretty much just shops with antiques, souvenirs, linen clothing and of course, what the area is known for; ceramics. Every thing you could ever want in ceramic you can find there. And everything is beautifully hand-painted so that fun to admire! After walking around this beach town, we got some gelato and just enjoyed the city and the view of the Sea 'til it was time to board and head home.
July and August are supposed to be really hot and pretty much unbearable, but we've been told the weather has been strange- and perfect- Sunny, little clouds and in the 90s! That morning it rained a little, and because of the wind from sailing it was a little chilly at times so we opted not to get out and swim. We heard the water was really warm and very salty (which gives you more buoyancy). I really wanted to get in, but I didn't want to risk being cold and uncomfortable for the rest of the boat ride. We have 3 years to find out how the water is for ourselves so we're not too worried :-) What a very relaxing way to spend our birthdays!

And of course, we DID exchanged gifts on our actual birthdays- I got James a new racquetball racket and racquetball shoes because he's been really into playing lately. He does that for his workout now more than anything else. He was really excited!
James got me an Italian purse that I've been eye-ing since we got here, a cute Italian ceramic rooster pitcher, and a "travel purse." I've been wanting a cute purse for traveling that's big enough to hold our video camera, etc, and that has a long strap so that I can wear it where it goes over my shoulder and across my chest and rests on my hip (make sense?). I think when you're wearing a heavy purse all day it's easier that way (I'm sure the girls reading this get me ;-p).

Our one year anniversary is next month and James has been planning a surprise get-a-way, so on my birthday he finally told me where we are going- Paris for 4 days! I'm so pumped! I really don't know much about what Paris has to offer outside of the Eiffel Tower so I've got to get researching! James has a few things planned for us but we've still got a little more research to do, can't wait!!!

In other news, we are still trying to work out this car situation! We think we finally have it figured out! Supposedly when Italian cars get old, sometimes the car stops reading the chip in the key, so they think that could be the problem. Which makes sense because on the dash there is a light with the picture of a key and it says "code," so we got a spare key to see if that would work but the problem continued... We are both happy to have a possible solution and still somewhat concerned about this because with this problem- the Fiat (car make) dealership is the only place that can fix it! So we have to go downtown and hope that 1. the car actually starts when we try to take it in 2. Fiat has an English speaker on staff 3. they don't try to rip us off and 4. it finally solves the problem!!!

The apartment is finally coming along! Our shipment is all here so we have been in the process of making our apartment our home! Only thing with moving, especially to an apt on base, is that some stuff from our previous apt won't work, but Military housing offers lots of storage space so we have been are taking advantage! Which also means we've had to buy some new stuff, so we've made a few trips to Ikea where we bought a cabinet for our bathroom (as there isn't even a medicine cabinet!) and a bookshelf. We have some how increased our library in the past 2 months so we've had to up-size the bookshelf. But I'm ok with that because I love the one we got and James enjoys putting them together! Also, the building structures here are completely different than ours in the US, so you have to use a drill to hang things- you can't use a hammer and nail, and if you decide to anyway and by some miracle you get the nail in the wall, if you pull it out, the wall breaks apart around the nail, so for us- a drill and screws it is! But in the process we found that one of our walls won't let us drill more than about a half inch, so we have to figure out something for that wall. It's been quite a task trying to decorate, but I hear this is one of the joys of being a military family!

So that about does it for today!
XOXO

I thought this was pretty cool... Almafi coast


Relaxing as we pass by Positano... I know you were dying to see our feet...

I should probably add to the household income...

This week we didn't really "do" much but we had several things happen, and of course, some more exciting then others.

I'll start with the bad- car troubles. We bought our car about 2 weeks ago and then out of no where, one morning it decided not to start! It revved like normal, no slowness or lack. It wasn't just a "click" noise- it just wouldn't take the last kick to start. We didn't panic too much because what would what solve? And thanks to Dave Ramsey, we have an emergency fund set up for times like these, so we weren't too worry about the financial aspect. So, after two days of sitting in the parking lot, we found some time to go to the auto shop on base. As they were setting up a tow to get our car, a guy gets on the phone with someone who's car wouldn't start as well. Apparently his car was sitting for two days, the tow truck shows up, and the man decides to give his car a crank, and voila- it starts...hmmm. So we went home right away and gave it a try- and wouldn't you know it started right up. So with that we cancel the tow and decided to just leave it alone and see if it happened again. A few days later- it happened again... and again an few days after that. So we took it to the shop (we actually drove it this time) because also needed AC work. We told them the issue and that (according to my dad) it could be something like the alternator or the fuel pump, so to also take a look at those. After the "diagnostic," they said that it's just an old battery, so if they replace it, that should do that trick. Now, I don't know much about cars, but just recently replaced the battery in my Mustang, and she didn't randomly start and not start, she was just a little slow to start. So this didn't set well with me. I called my dad and he agreed that it didn't sound completely accurate, but he's not here and can't look at it (*tear*), so I'll just have to take the shop's word for it and see how it goes. But I'm not too worried, if it's something else, my car will let me know in a few days, hah! The battery was in fact old, so it's not like it can hurt. We shall see. Oh, and that same day we found out about a shop that's off base and across the street that seems to do more reliable work for a good price, nice. Guess we'll go there if this problem continues, sighhhh.

On a more fun note, we went Italian furniture shopping! We talked to an Italian sales women, where you flip through her catalogs, choose the couches you like, customize certain aspects of it (like the lengths, "L" shape or two separate pieces, the armrests, etc), pick the leather, pick the color, and about six weeks and several thousand dollars later- you have your furniture! The furniture is really neat and we're pretty sure we've decided on our couch & love seat, coffee table and bed frame. Financing it however will come in pieces! James said I don't have to work but the more money we have the quicker we can get all the things we want, hah! If that's not a hint... I don't mind working, it's just my options here are limited and I don't want to have to work on days that his job decides that he doesn't have to. However, I recently found out that the school on base ALWAYS needs substitute teachers and bus supervisors, so I will be looking into that. I've always wanted to be a teacher, so that could be fun- and can confirm what I already figure- I don't have that kind of patience! The bus thing is supposedly really easy. And both they always need and you can always turn down (of course you do have to say yes every so often so you don't get booted from the system). Back to the furniture- I'm kind of nervous because I don't prefer plan colors like black or brown, but I don't want to pick a certain color and then later realize that I don't want that color for years! The couches we like look beautiful in white, but I don't think that's safe either, I think brown is winning... Hmm, I'll keep you posted.

Possible highlight of my week- My friend Michelle sent me a care package, so sweet! Just random items to help me out, such as Starbucks instant Iced coffee. There are no Starbucks here so yay! A little taste of home! Italians take lots of pride in their coffee, I don't think a Starbucks would even survive, well maybe off of tourists in Rome and such, but that's about it! And I think the Italians might be offended... Anyway, she also sent some Tapatio, so I can put the Tabasco aside, hah! What a sweetie! I love my friends :-)

Lowlight of the week- I've been using Pandora since I got here, and the app on my iPhone was recently due for an update, well figures that once I update it- now it says that Pandora is not available in the country I am currently in! What's that all about! Um, can I get an un-update???

Another week ending with a great adventure to Rome

We finally have a car!!! We decided to purchase a 1996 Lancia Delta. It's an Italian car and we paid in cash, woohoo! Dad would be proud! Since we're not accustomed to the driving here, we decided this was the perfect car for the next three years. It's not too small, not too big, it's not in perfect condition, but good for a '96, AND has A/C! So now we're good to go!

On Tuesday night we were able to hang out with some fellow Apostolic families and have a Bible study. I recently found out there are four of us on the base and Chaplain Luff is one of Two Apostolic chaplains in the whole USNavy. What are the odds- isn't God so cool?! :-) So, the Bible study started with us hanging out and chatting, then we sang some songs and moved into the study portion. Afterwords, we had some snacks and chatted some more. It was really good and comfortable to talk, study, and worship with people with the same beliefs and we cant wait to go again next week!

On the home front- we still don't have our household goods shipment, so there a few things that we keep realizing we need (i.e., a broom), and since we now have a car we decided to go to the local Wal-Mart. Actually, it reminds us of Wal-Mart, but it's called Carrefour. So, speaking of buying a broom, they sell the long handle part and the bottom sweeper part separately- odd, but adds to my story. We continued through the store buying random odds and ends, everything was all good and finally it's time to check out. We get in line, another family follows behind, things are going normal, language barrier and all, until the clerk realizes the broom part doesn't have a price tag on it. She asks us but realized we don't speak Italian, so she asks the clerk next to her, she wasn't sure either, so she then makes a phone call, and behind us the line, of course, is only getting longer. Normally we would have just said never mind (or tried to signal it anyway), only she had already rang up the pole part and we weren't trying to go home with a bottomless broom. Then the people behind start getting aggravated, and based on their hand gestures, I think they were suggesting we just forget about the broom, but again with the language barrier, uhh, . And I'm pretty sure at this point everyone knew we didn't speak Italian- classic. Anyway, it ended well and we have our broom, so on to the next adventure!

This weekend the USO (United Service Organizations) brought a concert into town for us. The Lt. Dan Band (a cover band), held a free concert Saturday night on base on. It was a good time to just get out and relax on the lawn with all the other Navy families. The band got their name from the Forrest Gump character Lt. Dan, because he's the same guy who is the face of the band, Gary Sinise. They travel all over the world and do 75% of their shows for the Military which I thought was very cool! They were surprisingly good and did a lot of Classics (Sweet Home Alabama, Don't Stop believing, Ain't No Mountain) and also some newer fun songs (Sara Bareilles- Love Song, Kelly Clarkson- Walk away, Beyonce- Check up on it), and then they ended with God Bless the USA- it was a good time.

Sunday James and I, and some of our friends decided to spend the day in Rome for the first time. We got to the local train station and bought tickets for the 10:40am train and then had some Caffe while we waited. Once we figured out which train was ours, this group of youth run past us and sit all over the car we were in, we didn't think anything of it until we realized they were in our seats- and we had no idea how to tell them this. I would have showed them our tickets, and I'm sure they would have moved because they were looking at us like "I know this isn't my seat..." however, the seating situation was inconvenient and we just decided to stand in the back. While standing we chatted with a local, his English was pretty good, but at one point he didn't understand me, and when I asked him if we were allowed to eat on the train, and he thought I was offering him my banana which was half eaten- and as bad as I felt after, I could not help but to bust out laughing! Poor guy! I apologized and told him, it was ok, as my Italian in no way compares to his English! About 40 minutes into the trip there was a stop and our the kids left our seats so we were able to sit down for the rest of the trip. At about 12:30pm we were in Rome and got on the Red bus tour, since we didn't know what all there was to see, how to get there, and how to ask locals those questions, so we decided this was the easy way to go. The city is amazing with tons of old, as well as new beautiful buildings. They have things there that date back to 1000 B.C, and some of the most detailed architecture I've ever seen. One of our friends said "The Capitol Building ain't got nothing on some of these buildings," and as gorgeous as that building is, she spoke the truth! The tour was very captivating! We got off to eat some food, and it was, of course, delicious! I ordered a Calzone, which I didn't realize was going to be huge, I don't remember what James' lunch was called, but it just as delicious as mine. Now I understand why people said we'd get fat over here. The food has yet to disappoint! Other than the intense heat, touring Rome was great- getting home on the other hand, was quite the experience.
We bought our tickets for the ride home right when we got there to make sure that we could, in fact, get home that same night. This probably wasn't a great idea because we were ready to go home about 2 hours before our tickets would allow. But we were troppers and grabbed something to eat (as much as I hate to say it, we went to McDonalds! We heard it tasted different because they use Olive Oil and have wanted to try it. We also thought we'd save money because food in Rome, like most big cities, is not cheap!). We were passing time in the half air-conditioned McD's until finally we went down to the tracks about 30 minutes early, only to find out our train was delayed by two hours! To pass time again we walked around the station and the mini-mall under the station. we had to change our tickets to the next train because ours was so delayed, although even then, the next train was delayed as well, until finally at about 10:30pm we were headed back to Naples. Once on the train, we found our seats and they were great- we got a little 6 seater cabin thing all to ourselves! A few minutes after the train started rolling along, the lights in our cabin shut off and we had no control over it- uhh, that can't be good. I think we were going a little senile by then and wanted to document our disastrous train experience, so our friend turned on her camera, only for the picture not to be able to take because the her battery was too low, nice. So I took out our camera, took a picture and then looked down, and my battery, too was about to die. Then we took out the video camera and couldn't figure out how to turn on the light- which only added to our mess of an experience.

We had another great week and weekend full of laughs and new sites! And now I have learned not to buy our tickets back home right when we get somewhere!
XOXO

This is James saluting the American flag at the US Embassy (formerly princess Margherita's Palace).
Love him!

New apartment and new sites!

This weekend was CRAZY, and a blast!

We moved into our apartment on Friday! Finally! We're really excited about it, everything is coming together quite smoothly, though, I'm not gonna lie, there could be some changes- like who actually wants a bidet in their shared bathroom? It seems awkward to me... privately tucked away in your bedroom bathroom, maayybe, but one that is at the end of the hallway for any guests' usage? No thanks! Everything is manageable though, at least once I lose the fear of blowing up the place every time I cook! Eek! Also, we are using loaner furniture, compliments of the US Navy, while waiting for the rest of our shipment to make it over here, good times. Oh, and we definitely put some things in the wrong shipment, i.e., our silverware, pillows and some other necessary odds and ends aren't here yet... Whoops.

We also had our first visitor from home, Kendall, and it was a blast. We hadn't got our car yet so we rented one and we took her on our first adventures to Pompeii and Capri. Pompeii was incredible. The old paintings on the walls had me mesmerized, and the architecture from that long ago (79 AD)- and it is partially still standing! Wow! Also, there was tons of Pottery, and one of our friends pointed out that they didn't have the tools and machinery we have now and yet it was so perfect looking as if they did! It's pretty indescribable, so you'll just have to come for a visit and witness it first hand! We were there for about two hours and didn't even cover half of the town. We'll definitely being going back there! And hopefully taking a real tour next time. They give you a map and book but it wasn't as helpful as the tour guides seemed and it was hard to track as you walked, so we didn't know what anything was. We did however use our imaginations, and created some good times for the People of Pompeii... and of course eavesdropped the occasional passing tours!

And Capri! Everyone should see this island, or something like it, at some point in the their life! The water was like the color of blue Powerade, and as clear! We woke up kind of late that day because I set my iPhone for Italy time, but the clock is still on MD time... Uh, Hi... So we didn't get out until about 10am and then we caught the 12:40pm boat across the water from Naples to Capri. When we got there we were fortunate enough to catch the last tour boat around the Island. The tour is about two hours long and stops at The Blue Grotto. It's a cave with a tiny opening (we had to switch to a four man boat and lay down to enter the cave), and then it's open on the inside. The way the water shines in and reflects off the rocks and water makes the water look like it's glowing- mesmerizing! Then we hung out on the island, checked out the shops and got dinner. I had Bruschetta as an appetizer- most delicious I've ever had! The tomatoes are fresh and it was nice and salty and OH so yummy! That was followed by spaghetti. I think the best way to describe the food here (other than perfect) is fresh. You just feel like you're eating healthier and more fresh food. It's great. Though I have no idea how many calories or fat I'm in-taking because the nutrition labels are different (and in Italian) and I don't think the laws are the same here as far as providing nutrition facts- though even if they were I couldn't read them!

Finally, Monday, we toured downtown Naples. It was a day full of "parla inglese?" (Do you speak English?), beautiful old buildings, a castle, iced coffee, gelato- you know, the usual Italian living! One sharable moment- here pedestrians have the right-of-way at crosswalks, common sense right? Only if you make eye contact with the car you're walking out in front of, you have given up your right-of-way. So, basically you have to just walk and hope you don't get hit (main intersections DO however have crossing signals, fyi), we haven't had the guts to try this out, until we got to a street where no breaks in traffic were to be seen (and an Italian in front of us did it), so we went for it! Needless to say, you didn't get a phone call, so you know - we all made it across in one, fully functioning piece. The whole time crossing we were saying "we're doing it, we're so doing this!" I feel so "in" now! So, after a long day of walking around the town, we took Kendall to the main train station so she could get back to Florence where she was studying abroad. And along the way we found "Africatown" down one on the allies. I felt like I was in NYC again! They had knock off purses, sunglasses, watches and many other odds and ends. The amusing thing was probably how many languages they spoke! There was an African man and an Asian Women communicating in Italian! Which leads me to think about one thing- I NEED TO LEARN THIS LANGUAGE!

Well, it was a great weekend, lots of good memories, and good to have had a piece of home for just a bit! We were glad to have our first visitor and now back to real life in Italia!
XOXO

Classic Capri:


Blue Grotto!

Car shopping and finally, a day out on the town!

My goal is to write once a week about the previous week... we'll see how this goes!

Last week we test drove car after car, so that eventually we'll be free to roam the city as we please. On base there is a "lemon lot" where people who are moving park their cars to advertise them, so that the people moving in can potentially buy their car. It's a fairly simple process, but cars are moving in and out everyday, and you don't know which car is actually better then the other cuz they're ALL more than 10 years old, some look better than others, etc, and not to mention we know nothing about the quality of European cars such as Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Fiat... etc. James and I go back and fourth because I feel like if we're living in Europe, let's drive a car that looks like we live in Europe! Not a car that looks like we could have brought it over from the states! That doesn't matter to him, so we'll see how this goes...

There was this one total European car that we test drove, it was small (duh!), a pale lime green, French and quite an experience to test drive! The owner was French... need I say more, hah! All the cars here are Manual, which is fine, but they are a little different. Kind of like a BWM, but still- different. For my stick drivers- in the USA, forward you'll find 1, 3 & 5 and then back you'll find 2, 4 & R... in European cars (like BMWs) I believe it's forward: R, 2 & 4 and back: 1, 3, 5... we'll this French car was forward R, 1, 3, 5 and back: 2, 4... weird... not only that, there's loop that you have to lift up in order to put the car in reverse (it's right below where you put your hand on the stick)... It's possibly that you didn't quite follow that, but at least now you can share the confusion I had! As I'm driving the French guy says, "you don't drive manual cars?" And James (knowing that's one of my pet peeves, because I could drive stick BEFORE I even had my license... not to mention, who drives a automatic GT Mustang? I mean really...) says, "actually she drives one back home, it's just different here." Then he says "oh, do you have a car? Is this your second car? Or is this for your wife?" (Background: lots of people have one nicer car and then a commuter or second car) James tell him this would actually be our first, he says "oh, I always thought Americans liked everything big" Hahaha... kind of funny. So as much as the French don't like us- he wasn't doing his people a favor either, just saying...

So, finally, the last day of Area Orientation was Monday, and for that day we were taken out to downtown Naples to explore! We took a bus to another base, and from there caught the metro. It's much cheaper than the DC Metro, 1.10 Euro. The way it works is that the pass is only valid for 90 minutes after you validate it, and you validate it as your walking on. Oh and there is graffiti everywhere, only here it's not gangs, it's kids. We rode the metro and got off by a popular coffee shop where I had my first cappuccino! It was amazing! It was perfectly strong enough and LOTS of flavor that I feel like I've been missing out on in my day to day cup of coffee, or even a Starbucks Capp- no comparison! Anyway, we explored the city, walked down to the water (gorgeous), saw some castles, churches, royal palace, the incredible opera house, etc, and also walked back up through the popular shopping streets. We walking into some more expensive places like Louis Vuitton, where when we walked in a man greeted us with a "hello..." killing any thought we might of had about fitting in! Hah! Then there were some less expensive and local shops, and of course United Colors of Benetton, Armani, Lacoste etc. After that we had lunch. James had small Penne noodles, which I believe had olive oil on them, and Kalamata olives, chicken and tomatoes- I think... whatever... delicious! With Fried chicken breast, bread and potatoes! I'm getting hungry thinking about it! I had Penne noodles with tomato sauce and mozzarella, egg plant stuffed with ham and mozzarella and, of course, a slice of bread. Perfect first real Italian lunch for us both! Lunch was followed up with fresh Gelato, a scoop of vanilla with Chocolate chips and a scoop of Coffee for James, and a scoop of Lemon on a cone for me! It is definitely as good as they say! Finally we walked through the market and hopped back on the metro back home. I hit some zzz's every time we sat. This was a quick review of the day but it was a lot of walking!

Now I'm planning for the holiday weekend. It's July fourth weekend, James has 4 days off and Kendall is supposed to be visiting! They tentative plan is Downtown Naples, Pompeii and Capri! Can't wait!

Random moment of the week:
I was looking at an Italian vendor's leather coats and then he started speaking to me in Italian, I looked at him confused and did the smile and nod thing, then he said "you don't speak Italian? You look Italian," Hah! Good to know that I can some what fit it as long as I don't speak, hah!

Ciao!

Naples:

Benvenuti a Napoli!

Here we are- Naples, Italy! Actually, that's like me saying "I'm from D.C..." technically we're 20 minutes outside of Naples. Whatever the case, my cousin suggested that I make a blog during my three (3) year stay in Italy, so that family and friends can keep up to date on our life, and I can log all the happenings life (and Italy) brings our way, so here we go...

Our first week:

We, My husband James and I, we're dropped off at the airport in Washington, D.C. by my mom and brother to board a plane bound for Norfolk,VA on Tuesday, June 15th (My sister's birthday :-/ ). We arrived an hour and a half early, expecting little or no delays. We checked in our bags, and as they're rode the conveyor belt around the corner of no return, we learned that the Navy had reserved our tickets but not paid for them yet... Excuse me, WHAT! We had 1 hour to work this out... and already checked luggage... I will spare you the painful details and several phone calls, etc, and just tell you that it all worked out and gave us 20 whole mins til take off! Thanks to many days on the treadmill, we were seated on the plane 5 mins before take off... just enough time to catch our breath and stow our carry-on items under our seats.

In Norfolk we were able to hang out with James' cousin (who happens to be stationed in Norfolk) and his GF for a few hours, and enjoy one last meal at The Cheesecake Factory. We left Norfolk, VA late that night and, had one short layover. We finally arrived in Naples on Wednesday evening, where our sponsor, J., along with our friend Jeff, picked us up. We got to drive through and see the town before getting to our base, and it is gorgeous here! The town is a little trashy but we had previous heard that- the gorgeous part is the fact that there are mountains and a volcano surrounding the area. We see the volcano, Mt Vesuvius, on a daily basis from the base (I love it!). On the other side of the Volcano is Pompeii, for those of you who know what that is... Pretty cool... scares my mom a little but I think it's beautiful, hah! Anyway, the driving is a little intimidating! The rules aren't really followed but it almost makes more sense... it's weird- in a good way. So, once on base, we checked into the hotel, got settled and then headed to Jeff's place where his wife, Keda, made us dinner, because pretty much every thing closes at 8 on base, and we wouldn't be able to get dinner or groceries. Then we went to bed around 2am (only 8pm EST), and that's only because we're addicted to Super Mario on Wii, hah!

On Thursday we woke up at 1:30pm on accident (7:30am EST... yeah, almost 12 hrs of sleep) and then had to rush and get ready to go to a hail and farewell BBQ at 2:30pm where we met people that James will be working with, and a few people he actually already knew from passing in either Bethesda or Djibouti, kind of cool... After the BBQ we went grocery shopping and checked out the "mall." The mall consists of the commissary (grocery store), Navy Exchange (NEX aka department store/everything-you'll-ever-need store...), a bunch of random stores (sunglasses, souvenirs, framing shop, book store, etc), random shops the Italians have set up to sell their various goodies, a bank, movie theater and, a food court (with KFC, Taco Bell, A&W and Subway). Very exciting Thursday ;-p We forced ourselves to bed at Midnight (6pm EST!!!) because we had to be at Area Orientation (AO) at 7:30am... and then we woke up at about 2:30am WIDE awake... good times...

Friday was the first day of AO. It was basically random information and paper work. But we did find out that we'll be living on base in a two bed room on base... apparently they changed the rules (again) and newbies HAVE to live on base unless there's nothing available... but it's allll free so no complaints!!! Yay! And now the parents don't have to worry about me being "taken," from my home out in town ;-p After AO we went to the chapel to see when services were. On Sunday there are two services, a contemporary Christian one at 915am and then a "Hallelujah Full Gospel Service" at 2:30pm so we planned to check out both. Then we saw an "Apostolic home fellowship" on Tuesday night with Charles Luff. We wonder what organization he was with and then looked over at another sheet with the Chaplain's information, only to find out that he is UPCI! Awesome :-) We are pretty thrilled about that and can't wait to meet him. After that we cooked, chilled and conquered Bowser :-)

Saturday we woke up at 11:30am (getting better!) and ran errands... nothing too exciting so I won't bore you :-) But we did get to the gym, which is pretty nice, did a little car shopping (no pun intended ;-p), and we talked to lots of people on skype which was great! Oh and I had a revelation... here they only drink espresso (in baby sized mugs), so if you want want we call coffee you have to order a "Cafe Americano," which when I worked at Starbucks was espresso with water... yeah, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it is here... that only took me 4 days to realize ;-p Oh and Lattes are also served in little tiny mugs... coffee drinkers beware...

Sunday, we hit snooze a bit and woke up at 11:00am, (jetlag is still a work in progress...), which of course means that we missed the first church service :-/ But we did make the Gospel service, where we were the only white people :-) It was really good, just very different than what we're used to. So we'll see what Tuesday and next Sunday morning has in store for us!
Oh, and it rained all weekend, but it's actually really beautiful and the clouds move super fast! There were like 3 thunderstorms in an hour, and in between each was a calm...

Monday-Thrusday, we had more AO. It was pretty interesting. We learned more base stuff, but also about driving out in town and just Naples culture in general... that was quite entertaining! They make driving in sound kind of like go-carting or bumper cars... anything goes as long as traffic is still moving! Although, I did have a heads up on this, thus the reason they drive little cars AND why we didn't bring either of our cars... But I'm not gonna lie... I do miss my Mustang!!!

Til' next time...
XOXO

Good bye DC!


Benvenuti Vesuvius!